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CNN Saturday Morning News

Five Pilot Whales To be Released Back Into wild

Aired August 09, 2003 - 09:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We've got a whale of a tale for you this morning from the Florida Keys. For the first time in the United States, five pilot whales are to be released back into the wild all at the same time. They are to be freed nearly four months after stranding themselves.
It's a big deal, because dozens of volunteers worked around the clock to rehabilitate these whales.

CNN's John Zarrella is following the story from Pine Key. Good morning.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Morning, Carol.

I was kind of hoping you would let me use that line, the whale of a story. But you used it.

COSTELLO: Sorry.

ZARRELLA: Yes.

Behind me here, you see some volunteers and marine biologists who are making some final preparations, last-minute preparations on one of the whales that will be released. They hoped to get that release started this morning, they were going to bring the whales out 12 miles, but had to delay it today while they're waiting for another boat to come in to help out with the release effort.

Now, the whales were stranded back in April. They have now, the experts believe, been nursed back to health, are fully recovered. And when they're released, hopefully tomorrow morning, they will become the largest number of whales to ever survive a single stranding event.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA (voice-over): They go by numbers, not names, four girls and one boy. The oldest are teenagers. The Florida Keys has been their home since April 18, when they and 23 other pilot whales stranded themselves in the shallow waters.

Becky Arnold was one of the first humans on the scene.

BECKY ARNOLD, MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE TEAM: It was a very devastating sight. There were several very large animals. Almost all of the animals were on their sides, high and dry, in less than a foot of water. It was heart-wrenching.

ZARRELLA: More than a dozen either died or were euthanized. Nine made it back to deep water.

These five, suffering sunburn and dehydration, were rescued by volunteers and marine mammal experts.

They are now, the experts hope, fully recovered and ready to return to the sea. Each will be fitted with a satellite tracking device.

JEFF FOSTER, NOAA CONSULTANT: Gives us baseline information that we don't have with this species here. How deep do they dive? How long do they stay down? What are their movement patterns?

ZARRELLA: Sunday, the teams of volunteers and scientists who have cared for, watched over, and fed the whales around the clock will hoist the remaining five into giant slings, take them 12 miles offshore, and release them.

For residents and visitors, the whales in the lagoon have been a must-see attraction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See, look, there's one blowing water.

ZARRELLA: No one knows why the original pod of 28 whales beached themselves. The experts say the elders may have been sick, and the others followed them in to shore. No one knows why these youngsters survived. For the volunteers and experts, months of hard work and endless hours are about to pay off.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA: And, you know, just how dedicated are these volunteers, have these volunteers been? Well, there are at least six or seven of the volunteers who are actually living on site. They live in a motor home across the way here. And it's a pretty small motor home. They work shifts, watching the whales day in, day out, 24 hours a day.

And again, some of the people actually living here on site. One woman brings food to the volunteers, another young girl, 18 years old from Orlando, has been staying here. Just people dedicated to seeing these whales through an ordeal and making them one of a kind, part of history.

COSTELLO: And...

ZARRELLA: This is John Zarrella reporting live from Big Pine Key.

COSTELLO: Oh, thanks so much, John. Can you imagine how emotional it will be for those folks as the whales swim out to sea? Be sure to join us tomorrow morning as we follow that whale release at 7:50 a.m. Eastern. We'll talk to a whale expert who's also helping with that mission. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired August 9, 2003 - 09:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We've got a whale of a tale for you this morning from the Florida Keys. For the first time in the United States, five pilot whales are to be released back into the wild all at the same time. They are to be freed nearly four months after stranding themselves.
It's a big deal, because dozens of volunteers worked around the clock to rehabilitate these whales.

CNN's John Zarrella is following the story from Pine Key. Good morning.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Morning, Carol.

I was kind of hoping you would let me use that line, the whale of a story. But you used it.

COSTELLO: Sorry.

ZARRELLA: Yes.

Behind me here, you see some volunteers and marine biologists who are making some final preparations, last-minute preparations on one of the whales that will be released. They hoped to get that release started this morning, they were going to bring the whales out 12 miles, but had to delay it today while they're waiting for another boat to come in to help out with the release effort.

Now, the whales were stranded back in April. They have now, the experts believe, been nursed back to health, are fully recovered. And when they're released, hopefully tomorrow morning, they will become the largest number of whales to ever survive a single stranding event.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA (voice-over): They go by numbers, not names, four girls and one boy. The oldest are teenagers. The Florida Keys has been their home since April 18, when they and 23 other pilot whales stranded themselves in the shallow waters.

Becky Arnold was one of the first humans on the scene.

BECKY ARNOLD, MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE TEAM: It was a very devastating sight. There were several very large animals. Almost all of the animals were on their sides, high and dry, in less than a foot of water. It was heart-wrenching.

ZARRELLA: More than a dozen either died or were euthanized. Nine made it back to deep water.

These five, suffering sunburn and dehydration, were rescued by volunteers and marine mammal experts.

They are now, the experts hope, fully recovered and ready to return to the sea. Each will be fitted with a satellite tracking device.

JEFF FOSTER, NOAA CONSULTANT: Gives us baseline information that we don't have with this species here. How deep do they dive? How long do they stay down? What are their movement patterns?

ZARRELLA: Sunday, the teams of volunteers and scientists who have cared for, watched over, and fed the whales around the clock will hoist the remaining five into giant slings, take them 12 miles offshore, and release them.

For residents and visitors, the whales in the lagoon have been a must-see attraction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See, look, there's one blowing water.

ZARRELLA: No one knows why the original pod of 28 whales beached themselves. The experts say the elders may have been sick, and the others followed them in to shore. No one knows why these youngsters survived. For the volunteers and experts, months of hard work and endless hours are about to pay off.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA: And, you know, just how dedicated are these volunteers, have these volunteers been? Well, there are at least six or seven of the volunteers who are actually living on site. They live in a motor home across the way here. And it's a pretty small motor home. They work shifts, watching the whales day in, day out, 24 hours a day.

And again, some of the people actually living here on site. One woman brings food to the volunteers, another young girl, 18 years old from Orlando, has been staying here. Just people dedicated to seeing these whales through an ordeal and making them one of a kind, part of history.

COSTELLO: And...

ZARRELLA: This is John Zarrella reporting live from Big Pine Key.

COSTELLO: Oh, thanks so much, John. Can you imagine how emotional it will be for those folks as the whales swim out to sea? Be sure to join us tomorrow morning as we follow that whale release at 7:50 a.m. Eastern. We'll talk to a whale expert who's also helping with that mission. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com